Highlights

Kostis Kilymis“A Crutch”

Kostis Kilymis is great. He runs a brilliantly named label, Organized Music From Thessaloniki, which releases meditations on birdsong and politically-charged zither music. He makes doom-laden soundtracks for writhing dancers. He frequently quotes William Burroughs. He makes beautiful cards. And in between this comically hectic schedule, he finds the time to concoct some grimy aural “confrontation” for Entr’acte titled More Noise Ahead.

For this little blighter, Kilymis collects sounds from experiments in the unpredictable and occasionally aggressive world that is audio feedback systems. All the acoustic and electronic noises here are pretty impossible to distinguish from each other, so don’t even bother trying. Instead, why not just bask in the “assemblage of tones, noises and auditory responses”? “A Crutch,” which was made with microphones, a 4-track, lloopp, and Flower Electronics’ Jealous Heart, among other equipment, can be found on More Noise Ahead

Selfish Beat [EP teaser]

I can only imagine being with the Browns (Not Not Fun/100% SILK) these days is a constant dance party or runway strut. Like, even Britt Brown’s new Robedoor release on Crooked Tapes got its own special bump, let alone their slew of L.A. Vamps releases/features this year alone. Yet, here we go again with EZLV blasting that Selfish Beat EP through the aquarium dance floor. Bubbling sampled vocals swimming through fishy melodies and flooded house beat. With a background in singles, remixes, mixtapes, and sweat-beading Montreal live events, EZLV fits right in there with the 100% SILK discography. Hit it up November 19!

“On The Run”

There isn’t a lot about this video for Spaceape’s “On The Run” that isn’t unsettling. It starts with a smattering of kitchen-utensil drumming and an out-of-tune horn loop, followed by cut-up gestures of some tribal dance, like the jittery movements of the monsters in Silent Hill. And the vocals lay right on top of the track, unaffected. When I hear a Hyperdub track, I expect lots of bass, some heavy drums, and not a single vocal track (if there are any) that doesn’t sound like it was recorded from the other end of a long, dark alleyway. This track comes to a screeching halt before anything familiar like that can be found in it.

“SNARL” [ft. Aids-3d]

Digital liquid slithering in ears like a tongue purring against pursed lips. Inside is deep and hollow and violent with the most minimal breath. Fans cool down that hard-bodied exterior. A silent exhale. Eyes watering and piercing through red LED lights; the power button defines us all. “SNARL” reverberates in pensive ones and zeros. Numbers and meaning are merely chastised by manipulated command. Follow the sound and not my fingers. Too late to sigh now. The installation most stimulating. Yet, feelings are less than numb, and emotional response would raise a world of concern. Powering off moans the phrase, “Oh, shit.” Pull it up, baby: pull it up. Check the age on that bot. It’s teetering on the bring of illegal and lethal.

“Hypnos” [excerpt]

Sleep becomes “Hypnos” becomes meandering through a warp of clouds in the seas. Become one with all the Earth. Step back and swim into soaring here-and-there, Covered in Blue Colors. Here with him and her, heightened to havens extending existence and essence. To psyche at ease. To pleasing to tease to excerpt. If sounds could run as colors do, it’d just be jest, yes? And merging minds with minds and other minds; it’s the principle of matter. Yes. The matter. Consume absorption expanding internally outward from science and that sort of shit. And jDean got that mad love. Also, it’s November already. C40 going to reel out that mental melt. Watery Starve providing more than just love. They providing that Sparkling Wide Pressure, mmmm.

“Monkey Mind”

Christiaan Virant — Buddha Machine co-inventor and one half of electronic duo FM3 — just dropped a solo album called Fistful of Buddha. The peripatetic drone nomad splits his time between Beijing, Berlin, and Hong Kong, but lately has been posted mostly in southern China putting the finishing touches on the fourth-generation Buddha Machine. Fans of “songs” and “disks” might enjoy Fistful. Stream track #3, “Monkey Mind,” below:

Plastic music box purists must hold out until December, when the day-glo Buddha4 ships, but for now, you can also listen to “Monkey Mind,” as it is the source for two loops on the new machine. Buddha4 packs more aural weight into its pocket-sized packaging, with upgraded 16-bit audio and an improved amplifier chip. Christiaan says the loops “sound smooth and zen-like at low volume, but get really dirty and distort nicely when turned up.” So it’s cool for both subway headphone meditation and as a plug-and-play “my first harsh drone band” starter kit. Nice!

Here’s a video featuring Buddha4 Loop 1, for now the next best thing to an infinite (or at least an average AA battery lifespan) loop:

Fistful of Buddha is available now via Christiaan and Merja Kokkonen’s CVMK imprint. Buddha4 will ship internationally in early December.